The Overwatch League has announced changes to the playoff structure in a news post on the official website.
A fourth team will now be eligible at the end of each stage to compete for one of the two cash prizes awarded to the top two finishing teams. Additionally, the top seeded team going into the playoffs will no longer receive an immediate bye, as was previously the case in stages 1 and 2. Instead, the top seed will get to choose their opponent from the other three teams that made it through to the stage playoffs. This will add another match to the day of the finals, which will continue to take place on a Sunday.
The top seed's choice of opponent will be announced once all four teams are confirmed for the playoffs.
The stage playoff prize amounts will remain the same, with $100,000 USD being awarded to the first place team and $25,000 USD being awarded to the second place team. Tiebreaker rules will also remain the same, with the following factors being taken into account when determining who advances and who does not:
- Stage-only map differential
- Stage-only head-to-head result
If neither of the teams have played each other during the season, and their records and map differentials are identical, then a tiebreaker match will be played to determine who moves on to the stage playoffs.